


Burnt Pancake

by rose_megan



Series: Pointless and Plotless Murlendez Fluff [2]
Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Boys In Love, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 12:37:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14520732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rose_megan/pseuds/rose_megan
Summary: Pancakes make everything better, right?





	Burnt Pancake

**Author's Note:**

> Similar to "Happy", just some pointless domestic fluff! Written for an ask on my tumblr, neilmelendezmd

Some days flew by. Some days, Neil and Shaun got home by 6 after having saved a life, or after not having to worry about saving a life at all because everything had gone perfectly. But some days, things weren’t so great. Some days, the day was long and the men didn’t get home until 8 or 9 or later, and they were somber or tired or depressed or all three because something -or many things- had gone wrong. A complication during surgery, a patient died, or some equally-as-bad event occurred that made the entire day turn sour. Today was one of those days. Neil and Shaun were riding in the former’s car in silence, the quiet hum of the engine the only noise. A young patient had died on the table: a seventeen-year-old with cardiomegaly. Her heart was too large, and her other organs were too small, and she’d had a heart attack. She’d had three attacks as a young child and had always been told that the next one would kill her, but despite this, she decided to drink an energy drink before her finals that day. It wasn’t even an hour later that she was on the ground, unresponsive. Neil and the team had tried to repair the damage, but it was too extensive. She flatlined on the table and they couldn’t bring her back. Neil had to inform her parents, and Shaun had decided to accompany him for support. Of course, when they were told, the women were distraught. Their daughter was on the short list for 3 top colleges, was an accomplished violinist, and volunteered at their church. She had so much life left ahead of her. But all the two men could do was offer condolences, tell them what their next steps were, and leave them to grieve. This left the two of them to grieve as well, because when a patient dies, doctors do grieve. It’s a unique type of grieving process, where you know you can’t be too emotionally invested but you’re just emotionally invested enough for it to hurt like hell. Thus why their drive home was in silence. 

When they finally pulled into the parking garage of the apartment they shared and parked, they wordlessly unbuckled and collected their things before walking to the elevator. Neil shrugged his bag further on to his shoulder before dropping his hand down to gently interlace his fingers with Shaun’s. The younger man tensed for a moment at the contact before reciprocating, and they entered the elevator together. A few minutes later, they were walking hand-in-hand into the apartment. They’d realized about four months ago that they were always spending their time at one or the other’s place, so the only logical thing to do would be to move in together. (“Neil, we are spending over $2000 on two apartments and we obviously just need one.”) After much deliberation, they decided to not renew either of their leases and find a new place together. They decided on a three-bedroom penthouse in downtown San Jose. (“I’m your hotshot cardiothoracic surgeon boyfriend, let me treat you to some luxury.”)

“I’m going to take a shower,” Shaun announced as soon as they were inside. Neil let his fingers slip away from Shaun’s as the young man went toward their bedroom. He sighed and watched him go, knowing this death today had been particularly hard for him. He had worked up a rapport with the girl before her surgery; they were both insanely smart and they had taken a liking to each other. Shaun helped calm her down before her surgery and when she died, before they went out to tell her mothers, Neil could tell he wasn’t taking it very well. He sighed again and dropped his bag on the barstool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, suddenly realizing what he was going to do. When Shaun emerged from the bedroom a half hour later in his typical pajama bottoms and blue, long-sleeve shirt, his wet hair sticking to his forehead, he found Neil in front of the stove. The counter had a few bowls, an egg carton with empty shells put back in, flour, and a carton of milk strewn across it.

“What are you doing?” Shaun asked cautiously, gingerly taking the shells from the carton and depositing them into the trash can. Neil whipped around to face his boyfriend, a skillet containing a perfectly golden-browned pancake in his hand.

“It’s been a rough day,” he stated, “and I figured we could use some homemade pancakes.”

“That is very nice of you.” Shaun nodded, the slightest grin coming to his face. “You make very good pancakes, even if other things you make aren’t as good.”

“Hey!” Neil shot back in mock-offense, his own mouth turning up in a gentle smile. He placed the skillet back on the stove and took two long strides to reach his boyfriend. “Can I kiss you?” He knew that unless they were already in a romantic situation, such as in bed or cuddling on the couch, it was always better to make sure Shaun was okay with contact as opposed to just surprising him with it. The younger man nodded, gently reaching his arms out to wrap around the shorter man’s waist. Neil placed his lips against Shaun’s, one arm wrapping around his thin frame and the other finding its way to the back of his neck, his wet hair entangling in his fingers.

“Uhm,” Shaun mumbled against Neil’s lips, “I think the pancake is burning.”

“Damn it!” Neil whipped around, grabbing the handle of the pan and ripping it from the burner. It didn’t matter. The pancake was a goner.

“That’s okay,” Shaun sidled up beside him and laid his head on his shoulder, “you have more batter.”

Neil looked over and planted a kiss on his wet head before dumping the burnt pancake out and pouring more batter into the pan.

“I’d like three, please.”

“Of course, Shaun.”


End file.
